Tom Tancredo takes Ken Buck’s microphone and the squirming begins

Giving Tom Tancredo[1] the microphone at somebody else’s event can be a mixed blessing for Republicans, as Ken Buck[2] learned all over again Thursday afternoon.

Buck was hosting a hot dog picnic with Tea Party conservative Sen. Jim DeMint[3] of South Carolina, in City of Cuernavaca Park downtown. The event was supposed to rally Tea Party supporters around Buck, with DeMint holding a fundraiser on Buck’s behalf later in the day.

Tancredo took the microphone after Buck and DeMint made some remarks to two hundred or so supporters. The controversial former U.S. representative from the south suburbs launched into a stemwinder of a list of threats against the U.S. throughout history, from the Great Depression to terrorism to various wars. Then came this:

“I truly believe this . . . I believe this with all my heart, that the greatest threat to the United States today, the greatest threat to our liberty, the greatest threat to the Constitution, the greatest threat to our way of life, everything we believe in, the greatest threat to the country put together by the Founding Fathers, is the guy who is in the White House today.”

Tancredo’s out-there statement got a big cheer from the crowd, but not exactly an endorsement from the host, Buck. Asked by reporters after the speeches what he thought of Tancredo’s remarks, Buck took his own tack.

“I think he’s created a new word in the dictionary, it’s called a Tancredo-ism. I don’t agree. I think there are a lot of threats to this country, and I don’t think the man in the White House is the greatest threat to this country at all,” Buck said.